Mitsui & Co., Ltd., along with major Dutch EV bus manufacturer VDL, has invested in Pinnacle Mobility Solutions Private Limited, an Indian company that produces and sells electric buses and electric small commercial vehicles under the EKA brand.

India is aggressively promoting a policy to popularize EVs as a countermeasure to its serious air pollution problem. By 2030, the government aims to make EVs account for 70% of commercial vehicles, 30% of passenger cars, 40% of buses, and 80% of motorcycles and three-wheelers. Among these, Pinnacle Mobility is focusing on public service vehicles (route buses, garbage trucks, etc.), which will be fully converted to EVs by 2030. Pinnacle Mobility will also focus on e-commerce last-mile logistics, for which demand is expected to increase in large cities. Concentrating on these two areas, the company plans to expand its manufacturing and sales business of electric buses and small commercial vehicles.

By leveraging Pinnacle Mobility’s engineering capabilities and local procurement network, VDL’s technological capabilities cultivated in Europe, and Mitsui’s global network, the company aims to make India a global hub for EV manufacturing and development under the EKA brand. It will also contribute to Prime Minister Modi’s “Make in India” policy.

Mitsui has set “Deeper Sustainability Management” as one of the corporate strategies in its Medium-term Management Plan 2026 and has set net-zero emissions as the company’s vision for 2050. In addition, the company have positioned low-carbonization in the fuel sector as an important issue to be overcome towards achieving a decarbonized society, and are working on both demand and supply. The investment in Pinnacle Mobility will take on the challenge of creating demand for EVs in India, which is expected to grow in the future.

Through this investment, the company will further promote the electrification and decarbonization of mobility and contribute to the creation of a society that is in harmony with the environment.